fashionista of the month: miss carrie lindberg

every month we ask the same 5 questions of our fellow fashion-loving coloradoans who have enough style and sass to stand out against the sea of northface jackets, beanies, and ratty tshirts we so commonly encounter. now, that being said, carrie b. lindberg doesn't live here in denver and never has. but seeing how this blog is so new and she's been mentioned twice in it already, we thought it fine to break the rules we set for ourselves and interview miss CB lindberg for the march edition. when was CB lindberg mentioned in the blog you ask? remember when elinor referenced huge glasses, saying she only knew one girl who could pull off that look? that girl is carrie lindberg (yes, she IS very special). and the blog previous to this one when el talked about how going to a co-worker's fabulously decorated home inspired her to color-block her bookshelf? that co-worker was none other than carrie lindberg. carrie currently lives, shops, and organizes things by color in seoul, korea. hailing from the wonderous city of minneapolis, she will surely bring the heat this week to valentine on the side. give it to us carrie!

1. why do you think you're so fashionable?

CBL: i think i'm fashionable because, well, to be honest, i don't think i'm fashionable. i like clothes and i like looking nice, but for the most part, i toss on jeans and a tshirt, and possibly a sweater vest and cardigan. i tend to wear standard pieces and add some flair with scarves. prints and patterns are really appealing to me, and that could very well be something that makes me seem more fashionable and put-together than i actually am. i can pick out a great scarf from a mile away.

2. what's the LEAST fashionable thing about you?

CBL: i'm a sucker for irony. i buy clothing that is funny more often than i buy clothing that will work for me or last for a long time. for example, i am sitting here typing in a peach shirt that says "lovers" in cooper black (the font). i also have a navy blue sweater with an intarsia ghost. i also love giant, stupid glasses like no one else you will ever meet.

3. what current trend or trends do you hate the most right now?

CBL: brand names. logos emblazoned on any and every item that someone is sporting is such a huge visual turn-off to me. there are definitely things that a lot of people i know are into (chuck taylors, vans, chrome bags---mostly shoes and bags now that i think of it) that are obvious whether the tag is clear and easy to see or not. there is something about paying an insane amount of money to advertise a brand to the world that is so counter-intuitive to me. being brand-loyal because of durability and ease: that's a whole different animal.

4. what is your secret fashion vice?

CBL: its not really a secret, and i'm totally jumping on the bandwagon with this one, but as i've mentioned i'm really into scarves. in fact i fear this vice may bankrupt me. i bought three scarves yesterday alone!

5. who or what is a fashion inspiration to you?

CBL: colors are what really get me going. i find a color or color combination i love and will follow it hard. i went through a serious yellow and gray stage that i'm just now coming out of, and am transitioning to red oranges and corals with ashy blacks and slate blue grays. color combos that kill me usually involve something citrusy and something very neutral. oddly, i am also really into grey and khaki together. it is delicious in the most boring way possible, i guess. cannot get enough.

undercover fashion correspondent cb lindberg

as a BONUS, we asked carrie to give us a little dirt on what the scene is like over there in seoul, a.k.a. to be our VOTS asian fashion correspondent. here's what she noted....

CBL: fashion in seoul is conservative in a really strange way. everyone here wears tops that cover pretty much everything. turtlenecks, scoop-necks, layers, scarves, etc. its a big deal, even in the summer, to keep covered in that way. buuuuuuuuttttt, they also wear really insanely short shorts and skirts. even in the winter you'll see girls tromping around in barely-there skirts with either nylons or colored tights (adorable). high high heels are another thing that i can't seem to wrap my head around, because in korea you are forever walking and/or climbing flights of stairs. but girls here are like robots when it comes to this. they will rock 4 or 5-inch heels every day of the week, no matter what.

fashion for guys is pretty typical and similar to what's popular in the west i think. men here are generally quite thin, tall, and gorgeous. the majority of men wear thick-framed glasses, have shaggy haircuts, wear skinny jeans, blazers, scarves, and man purses. in fact i have seen a few really spectacular man purses which are much more feminine than anything the girls i know would have. but that, i presume, has more to do with culture and gender roles/gender identity than anything else.

thanks carrie!

until next time...

cheers!

get to know us

To know us is to Love us.

Each month we're going to interview a local celeb, or a friend or stranger of a special fashionable status on their general opinions on the subject---and we'll always ask the same five questions. To kick things off, we're going to interview each other!

#1. Why do you think you're so fashionable?

EL: I think I'm fashionable because in my life I've had to be really versatile and accept change and not just stick with one style or look. A lot of things in my life have gone through flux; everything from location to body size to what I'm into and to stay stuck in a rigid fashion pattern would have been unfortunate---I would have missed so many fashion opps. And the times I completely fell off the fashion wagon were really indicative of times when I shut down because I thought I had to look a certain way. The best thing about fashion is that it allows you to express who you are in the moment, and that can be anything.

K: I think I'm fashionable because I don't get too obsessed with one current trend or style. Nothing's worse than locking yourself into one specific look or identity, only to have it kind of go out of style after awhile. I think knowing your own personal style--what you genuinely love wearing--allows you to have a sort of consistent undercurrent, and from that you're able to just keep updating your look. I'd say I'm neutral-fashionable. I wear what I really like and confidence is definitely a big part of being fashionable.

#2. What is the LEAST fashionable thing about you?

EL: The least fashionable thing abut me is that when I come home from work, I just live in these ratty old sweat pants with a wife-beater and ill-fitting hoodie. I usually throw my hair up in a half ponytail and just check out on fashion for the night, which is fine sometimes, but seriously, my poor husband.

K: The least fashionable thing about me is probably my weird fear of being overdressed, which means I usually end up looking way too casual. My closet is stacked full of dresses and heels that I never wear. Its a dumb fear because I always notice other people who are too dressed up and they usually look amazing and fun.

#3. What is a secret fashion vice of yours?

EL: My secret fashion vice is that I will be looking at my various nerd-related websites, like stuff about Harry Potter, or A Song of Ice and Fire, or the Joss Wheadon show Firefly, or Veronica Mars, and there will always be a t-shirt or sweatshirt with the logo for sale (or in the case of Harry Potter a series of scarves) and I will always have like a moment where I seriously think about buying it. And as cool as it is to support things you love with your cash, a Harry Potter t-shirt is never cool.

K: Mine is sequins. I'm forever drawn to things involving sequins---stilettos, dresses, jackets, clutches. I think it comes from when I was little and my mom had this amazing black sequin dress that she wore when she and my dad went to their high school reunion. I remember being so in love with that dress. She eventually gave it to me, but it has shoulder pads so I'm not sure what to do with it. I don't own any sequin items because even though I am secretly obsessed with sequins, I have no real idea if they are actually fashionable or its just some hideous, weird ugly thing only I think is cool.

#4. What current trend or trends do you hate the most right now?

EL: I absolutely hate those big glasses I keep seeing hipster kids wearing. HATE! I just want to rip them off their faces. I like big sunglasses because they give this old school Hollywood air of glamour but big prescription glasses just look you're a dork 9-year old whose mom picked out sale glasses for you at Lens Crafters. There is no reason to deliberately look that way. See-through frames are the worst of the worst. I know only one human on earth who can pull off crazy glasses like that and the trend really should have stopped with her. 

even with the giant scarf, the outfit is ruined by the glasses

K: The Mary-Kate Olson/Mischa Barton headband, lamé leggings, HAREM PANTS (ew! what?), and people with the wrong body type wearing really tight skinny jeans, i.e. girls that are too short and stocky (they look like little turtles) or boys with skinny chicken legs (they look like they would lose in a fight with the weakest person on Earth).

#5. Who or what is a fashion inspiration to you?

EL: This has remained the same for many years: Tank Girl and Audrey Hepburn. Tank Girl (though a comic book character) is the perfect example of just not giving a shit and still looking amazing. Also, she was an early trend-setter with all her crazy layers. Audrey Hepburn because she was just given the gift of absolute high style, even though she would have looked pretty and chic in a potato sack. She wore clothes that were both elegant and accessible. Even in her older years she was high fashion.

K: I always loved Diane Keaton's characters in Manhattan and Annie Hall--timeless and forever casual yet sexy in button down shirts, scarves, jeans, and high-heeled boots. Maybe I just like the 70's. As for celebs, I like Kate Hudson's style a lot. I like women who can consistently keep it ultra-classy while being a little bit of a free spirit. 

Kate in In-Style magazine.

Remember to watch out for our March fashion interview where we will ask these same five questions to a special Denver local in hopes of figuring out how fashionable people make it happen in the queen city of the plains.

Cheers!